*I have soooo many pictures I want to upload but I am being a boomer and need to just publish for now and will add more later. Sorry y’all! It turns out I am STILL human!*

So much has happened since I last updated my blog. I couldn’t update in real time because there were so many moving parts. But I have BIG news!!! It appears it has been a month since I last wrote here and I am sorry to keep you all waiting with bated breath…but….drumroll please……

1. I accepted a new position at Juneau Alliance for the Mentally Ill (JAHMI) in Juneau, Alaska and will be moving in January 2023!!!!! And for all those who are asking- it is for forever. I am hoping this is where I will retire and spend the rest of my time on this planet.

The job is a non-profit in Juneau, originally created to care for the homeless population about ten years ago. It is a great fit for me professionally in which I can use my DNP degree, involving  specifically, program planning and quality improvement projects AND also using my AANP, Family Nurse Practitioner clinical skills simultaneously! (Can you tell I am excited to start!!??) 

The history of JAHMI is that Juneua did a study to see how much it cost to care for the homeless without supplying them healthcare or homes versus housing them for free, giving them free healthcare and letting them continue using drugs or alcohol. This model has been done in several cities in Canada and in the US and it has been very successful in keeping people alive, getting them healthy and loving them until they can love themselves. Juneau and all these other cities have found it cheaper to house them than to leave them on the streets because of the healthcare dollars spent on them coming to the ER in crises. It is public health at its finest, in real time. If we take care of people’s basic Maslow hierarchy of needs, then it allows them to get well enough to reach self actualization and health. 

So they built this 30 unit apartment complex ten years ago and had social workers help the residents apply for medicaid and food stamps, get them set up with primary care providers, therapists and mental health providers and it was so successful that they expanded it to have another 30 units. The clinic I will be working at is on the first floor of this apartment complex. The residents are not required to see me, but it gives them easy access to healthcare and if they miss an appointment, I can literally knock on their door and do a home health visit. I mean, if they are still in active addiction or not taking their mental health medications, they are not going to be able to get themselves together enough to get to an appointment. But with this model, that’s fine, I get to come to them! So JAMHI flew me to Juneau and wined and dined me and gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

1. Nina is coming with me!

2. Nikki will be coming later. Nik has her own career and job and was already planning to switch jobs in three years when the surgeon she works with at Duke retires. For now, the plan is for me to go to Alaska with Nina and start my job, and Nik will stay in Durham for the next few years so tight up loose ends for her in Durham so she can join me and Nina in Alaska, where it is I dare to say, heaven on earth! There’s a glacier 5 minutes from my clinic y’all (for now until climate change melts it). 

   Everyone can come visit me and I will still be spending a lot of time in Durham in and in Maine. As Nikki said when I proposed this situation to her- Alaska is closer than Africa! It is actually almost easier to fly from Durham, NC to Juneau, Alaska then for me to fly from Durham, NC to Portland, ME!

The flight is RDU-SEATTLE-JUNEAU and you walk outside this tiny little airport in Juneau and see yourself surrounded by nature, mountains, whales, bald eagles, everything! I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. Also, flights are relatively cheap. I cannot say this enough to the people in my life who love me and who are afraid they’ll never see me again- this is going to be ok and it is a win/win for all of us! Visiting me will be like going on vacation for free (besides airfare). My Aunt is already saving up, so there are no excuses!

There is even more to update on but I have to save some juicy details for my book. I know you all keep forgetting but the whole point of this blog is to get my book, The Perkins Letters, published! Stay tuned. My life doesn’t seem to want to get boring anytime soon!!!